look at what i can do!

So Brienna has decided that she is ready to start rolling over. She has rolled once from her stomach to her back a couple weeks ago but she was already half on her side. Then on Tuesday she rolled for the first time from back to stomach. Now she is a regular pro at it, although she gets pretty mad after a while because she can't roll back!

I can't believe that she is doing this so early. Zach did not start rolling until he was 5.5 months old. So now we have to work on the rolling back part, because last night she rolled her self over to her stomach in the middle of the night and was very mad that she could not get back and started screaming!!

a night from hell

I have mentioned many times about my feelings of how Gary's ex deals with raising Rylee. I don't agree with a lot of her parenting methods, but I do believe that there are certain things that are down right devious and do nothing but emotional scar this little girl.

Gary picked up Rylee from daycare yesterday for his normal Wednesday visitation. Mind you, we had her here from Friday late morning until Tuesday morning for the long weekend. So it was only a day that she was back at her mom's house (the house with no rules). When Gary called me on his way home we talked and I could hear her singing and talking to herself in the background. Not 2 seconds after she walked in the door the crying and emotional breakdown began. She did not say hi to me, or Brienna. Just instantly started crying that she wanted to put on her pjs and go lay in her bed. It was 4:00pm in the afternoon! Gary told her to sit down and relax. I asked if she had a nap at school and he said that she did but she must still be tired. Of course I knew this was not the behavior of a tired Rylee but one who was genuinely not wanting to be with us again! Shortly after this Zach came upstairs from the basement excitedly to see Rylee and asked her to go downstairs to play and she of course ignored him. So I took Zach and Brienna into the basement to play because I felt bad. Gary shortly came down followed by Rylee and sat down. Gary took Brienna from me, and instantly Rylee was excited to see her and talk to her, but while I was holding her she wanted nothing to do with her. Very pissed by this I went upstairs to start dinner. Gary came up after I heard him battling with Rylee over a "bouncy ball" that she brought over here from her mom's house and her mom said that she HAD to bring back.

He came upstairs shaking his head that it has to be the TV Rylee has in her room over there that is making her so tired and acting this way. I lost it. I told him that I wished he would realize that this has nothing to do with her being tired and that it had everything to do with not wanting to be here. She was fine in the car on the way home and instantly broke down when she walked in the door. She wanted to go to bed because the sooner she went to bed the sooner it would be morning and she would be back at her mom's house. I know that his ex brainwashes this child about being at our house. Gary of course did not see where I was coming from, because God forbid he actually stood up to Shari and told her the way she was raising their daughter was turning her into a basket case. I understand there is little that he can do with getting Rylee to understand, but he can certainly bring this up to his ex and demand this crap stop.

Of course this argument was pointless because he thought I was being ridiculous of course that was until dinner time when Rylee announced that her mom told her that "I only have to do 1 sleep here, and then I get to have 6 sleeps at my house". I instantly looked at Gary and said your right Shari definitely dosen't put these thoughts in her head about it being awful to be here.

I am sure that many people would think I am being overly sensitive about this, but trust me Rylee is the queen of the castle in Gary's eyes too. Now that we have a child of our own I have rules and standards that will apply to Brienna and to Zach. These are different then those that Rylee has at her other house, and as she gets older the behavior will only get worse and I refuse to let her lack of rules be the norm in this house and effect my kids. I would tear Joey a new one if he was putting thoughts into Zach's head about being here and Gary not being his father and all the other crap we deal with Rylee. He does not ever say a word to her, and so me, Zach, and Brienna are the ones that suffer.

Just had to get this out in my online therapy session because I hate to fight with Gary about it. I know that it is was hard for him at first to only see Rylee on Wednesdays and every other weekend but he also understands that those are the consequences of divorce. This does not mean that he has to overcompensate for his lack of time with her by allowing her to act in this way and play it off on being tired!

memorial weekend camping

We went camping this weekend at a Yogi Bear campground to celebrate Memorial Day weekend. The kids had a lot of fun, but were a little disappointed that they did not see Yogi Bear this time. We camped with some friends that have twin boys that are the same age as Rylee. Brienna was such a trooper. I was a little worried that she would not adjust to the new sleeping arrangements but she did great. It was even warm enough this year to use the pool.

The kids did some crafts and did a whole lot of playing. Then Sunday we went to Chris and Tara's for Liam's baptism. We have been saying since he was born a week after Brienna that we need to get a picture of the two of them together, and I finally did.

He is a bit bigger than Brienna, but I would expect nothing less of a son from Chris. Rylee and Zach spent the afternoon in the bounce house they had in the backyard, and again another beautiful day.

Yesterday we came home and unloaded everything from the trailer before taking it back to storage. Hopefully we will be able to take another trip pretty soon, but just like last year our weekends in June are pretty filled already.

I took this video of Brienna last night babbling to her lovey. I know that Jamie says it is hard to imagine her getting bigger, and doing these things but my baby bee is being much more responsice as she aproaches 4 months old.

Last but not least I got this picture of Brienna today, and I thought it was the cutest one yet!

the preschool graduation

Yes, you did read that right. Yesterday Gary and I attended Rylee's graduation from preschool. There was a graduation entrance song and everything. They even wore caps and gowns...

As you can see they were much more interested in playing with the tassles then anything else. They sang some preschool songs they had learned during the year, and then they each had their name called and got their diploma...

Of course Gary's ex made a HUGE production out of this. She had an entourage of people that would attend someones college graduation. Of course as soon as Gary and I walked in with our illegitimate daughter they all turned and started whispering to each other. I seriously thought I was back in high school.

I really feel bad for Gary at these types of events for Rylee. It took her a good half hour to acknowledge that we were there. It doesn't bother me, because I know that they relationship between a girl and her mother is important, but it really upsets me for Gary. We did finally get her to come over and take a picture of her and her dad.

Overall, I was extremely amused by the whole situation. We left as soon as they started getting things together for the food. I was done with all of these people making their comments about us.

So today I spent all day running around getting ready for our camping trip to see Yogi Bear. Gary brought the camper trailer to the house yesterday and I have cleaned it out and tomorrow will stock it with lots of groceries. I did take Zach to hockey this evening and managed to get some pictures of him in all of this gear.

So I will post a bunch of pics from our weekend when I return on Monday.

our weekend

I finally finished the craft fair stuff on Saturday. I worked on my sample books until late Friday night, and had the craft fair all day on Saturday. Brienna was a real trooper while she sat with me. She of course attracted many people to the table. I did not sell any invitations, but I wasn't expecting to anyway. I gave out a lot of cards so hopefully I will get some people to order from the website.

Then Sunday we got a lot done around the house. I planted a few bushes in my new landscaping in the back. Gary cut the grass, and then painted half of our bedroom. I told him to wait until another weekend until he could finish it in one day, but he didn't want to. So now I am taking bets on how long I look at a half painted bedroom!

Yesterday we had a painter come to do the two-story foyer and the upstairs hall and loft. I absolutely LOVE the color and it really makes the house look different. So after two years of living here the only rooms we have left to finish is the Living Room/Dining Room and the Laundry Room. Slowly but surely everything is coming together.

Zach and I played outside with a super ball after his nap. It was fun making him chase it half way down the block.

oh to be a kid again

So yesterday I went to Target to look for a fire pit cover. Apparently, these are a little more difficult to find then I had anticipated. Anyway, I bought Zach a couple of board games. Cootie and Chutes and Ladders, two all time kid favorites. Although I don't remember playing Cootie as an actual game as a kid. After Zach took his nap he immediately wanted to play the caterpillar game. So after an hour of trying to teach him the rules he actually beat me...

It was a lot of fun playing kid games again, and I am excited to see him developing the ability to understand the rules. Although I had to give him gentle reminders from time to time, he got the point and really did beat me fair and square.

We took him to hockey around 5pm, and that was interesting. He enjoys going, but after a certain period of time learning stuff he just quits. He doesn't listen, doesn't try to do what he is being told, and basically just sits there on the ice. It can be a little frustrating, but I know that he is still young and that hopefully the attention span will increase as he gets a little bigger.

After hockey we went to run some errands and stopped at Denny's for dinner. Brienna got her dinner then too. A couple weeks ago, I started her on rice cereal after the doc told me it would be okay. She did really well opening her mouth for the spoon and even whines if you don't spoon it in fast enough. She loves to stick her fingers in her mouth right after a spoonful, and then of course makes a giant mess of it...

I can't believe how big she is getting already. Almost 3.5 months old, and starting to really coo and babble. I keep trying to get some video, but it never fails as soon as I turn it on she goes silent. She rolled from her stomach to her back for the first time on Tuesday, and she has been trying really hard to go from her back to her stomach, but doesn't get that she has to do something with her legs!

crazy busy

Things around here had been so crazy over the last week. Zach is in a couple sports right now, and then Mother's day. Friday, I took Zach to the pediatric cardiologist. This was a total disaster! I stupidly made the appointment for 1:00pm which is nap time, and they wanted to do an Echocardiogram (u/s on his heart). This took an hour and he was done with this lady poking at him after about 5 minutes. He did manage to sit through the whole thing with a couple of breaks. There was nothing to be concerned about. Apparently he has what they call a functioning murmur. Totally harmless and he is clear to play any sport or activity. Of course his father has yet to call to find out what the result is. Since we had no idea why he had to have all this done, you would think he would call to find out what they said. Here are some pics of him figuring out what they were going to do to him at the doctor...

Mother's day was good. We had everyone over to our house for brunch. It was nice not to have to worry about crowds and reservations. Besides the cost of brunch around here for Mother's day is borderline robbery. The kids got me a cute sterling silver bracelet with a Mother charm, and Gary found me the new DKNY perfume that I had been asking for. I had myself convinced that I would be getting a sparkly diamond ring, but no such luck.

Our patio was finished today, and I am so extremely excited about having a backyard this year. It has been a long long time since I have lived in a house with a backyard you can sit and enjoy.

busy busy tuesday

Zach has his first real hockey lesson on Monday. It was a total disaster for him. The coach suggested moving him down to a Hockey Learn to Skate program. He recently completed a skating lesson, but apparently the program has a special hockey skating lesson that teaches them how to manuever in all that gear. I did not have my camera with me, but trust me he was so adorable in all of that gear. He really enjoys the sport, but he does not realize that it takes time to play like the Hawks on TV.

Yesterday, was Rylee's first ice skating lesson. When she saw Zach doing it last session, she was really eager to give it a try for herself. So we signed her up for Tuesday evenings, which is a bonus for Gary because he gets to pick her up and spend some extra time with her.

She spent a lot of time like this at first, but she was getting the hang of it by the end of the first class. She seemed to really enjoy it as well.

After skating we took the kids to Mommy's favorite Mexican restaurant to celebrate Cinco de Mayo...On the Border. I had a giant strawberry margarita (SO GOOD), and everyone but Rylee enjoyed some mexican food.

Last but certainly not least, yesterday Brienna turned a whole 3 months old! I can not believe that the time has gone by so quickly. She recently started laughing a really baby laugh. It is seriously the cutest thing ever. I will try to get some video to share very soon.

soccer game and the ex

It was Joey's (my ex) weekend with Zach. Of course when Zach is in sports on Saturday he gives up his Friday nights with him and usually picks him up at the games on Saturday. Yes obviously he really cherishes his time with his son...WHATEVER! Well, I gave him the schedule and told him that every game starts at 9:30am. He called me at 20 minutes to 10:00am to verify the location. He showed up after half the game was over with his girlfriend, his mom, and her husband. When it was Zach's turn to play, Joey immediately became the critic of Zach's soccer skills. Now mind you Zach will be 4 in July, and this is the first time he has ever played soccer on a team. I am not sure if he was expecting him to be an instant protege of David Beckham, but I figure there is some learning involved in the sport right?!

Zach does well, he tries his hardest to get the ball. He does need to understand the concept of teams, and that he shouldn't push his own team mate to get the ball. He is really excited about playing, and it is extremely cute.

The rest of my weekend was the usual. Getting some stuff done around the house, and procrastinating the samples for the craft fair again.